Telecommunications equipment has continually evolved to provide expanded capabilities in the exchange of information between entities. Included in this evolution is the ability for telecommunications equipment to allow uninterrupted operations even during routine system maintenance, component failures, software updates, hardware upgrades, and the like. In part, the ability to maintain uninterrupted operations in a communications system can be attributed to a combination of software and hardware interface equipment.
Whether a telecommunications system incorporates redundant elements, adaptive software, reconfigurable components, or combinations thereof, the backbone of a telecommunications system is the hardware. At a base level, this hardware can include data transmission lines (e.g., fiber-optic cables, copper, twisted-pair cables, phone lines, etc.), routers, switches, and other network interface components. The ability for certain components to be removed and replaced, or swapped, without interrupting operations (e.g., shutting systems down, etc.) is known as hot swapping, or hot plugging.
In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.